MTB Advice

if youre gonna go carbon, easton is the only way to go. they are far more advanced in maintaining strength-to-weight

Hey Skippy_squirrel

1. I would lok into DH riser bars, no point in shaving grams with carbon if you are heavy, I've bent bars before and its not a cool feeling. You can always go lightweight when you get your bodyweight down a bit.

2. Try to get heavier springs for your fork Rockshox do a variety of springs for most of their forks.

3. Your bike should be fine for light trails and kerbs but don't hit up any jump parks or DH trails.

[font=Times New Roman]I am a big guy myself at 6'2", 230lbs (well, that is big for mountain biking anyways). The areas on a mountain bike that are susceptible to flexing/bending/snapping under the extra strain of a heavy-weight rider are wheels, seat post, handlebar, cranks and forks. These areas are definitely not the areas to get gram conscious given your weight.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman]Ritchey parts tend to be built for riders that weigh 100lbs less then you.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman]Your rims are pretty stout. Assuming they are 32 spoke, I would ensure your rear wheel is laced with straight gauge 14g spokes (with brass nipples on the drive side at the very least) and has even spoke tension. [/font]

[font=Times New Roman]Suspension seat posts? I think they are a novelty. Yes, they take the edge off of bumps when you are sitting. They also change the distance from your saddle to your pedal when the seat post compresses, which contributes to an uneven pedal stroke. It will do nothing for you when you are off the saddle. It suspends the rider, not the bike, so it negates one of the primary advantages of rear suspension, which is to keep the rear tire glued to the ground over the bumps. [/font]

[font=Times New Roman]For a non-suspension seat post, you cannot ask for much stronger then a Thompson.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman]Handlebars can be one of those things that when they fail, they fail catastrophically. Trust me, snapping a handlebar is NOT the kind of thing you want to worry about while riding. The poster above suggested a downhill specific riser bar, and that would be a sound upgrade.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman]The Judy fork has average stiffness at best. As the poster above suggested, you will benefit from a firmer spring. If you are upgrading in the future, a Marzocchi fork might be a good thing to look into. [/font]

[font=Times New Roman]The crank area is a place a big guy can be robbed of a lot of pedal power from excessive flex. Look down at your front derailleur when pedaling up a hill. If you can see your chain rings flexing back and forth with each pedal stroke, you might look at an upgrade down there. A set of Race Face cranks designed to work with a shorter 108mm spindle might stiffen that area up. Or the newer Shimano cranks that move the bottom bracket bearings outside the shell.[/font]

[font=Times New Roman]Cheers,[/font]
[font=Times New Roman]Juba [/font]